When my phone rings a couple of Sunday mornings later, it’s unexpected. But seeing Sloan’s number on my display is welcome as hell. “Hey! You finally back from Cleveland?”
“Do you have a minute?” She sounds near tears.
I walk away from the weights I’d been ready to deadlift and make my way to a quiet hallway of the gym. “Sure. What happened, baby?”
The endearment slips out. I only meant to make her feel better, but I brace for her to bite my head off. She doesn’t. Because she doesn’t mind pet names…or because she’s too distraught to care?
Sloan simply dissolves into a loud, heaving sob. “Everything is horrible, and I don’t know what to do. This will sound crazy, but you’re the only other person who seems to care whether Reservoir succeeds.”
“Who did what to you?” When I find out, I’ll rip their heart out and their balls clear from their body.
I don’t stop to ask myself why I’m so pissed on her behalf and feeling protective. I know it’s not smart. Just like I know she’s a strong, capable person. But I can’t seem to shove down the haze of red in my vision.
Someone fucked with my woman.
Whoa. Dial that back by a thousand, Romeo.
I try. I really, really do. Until Sloan starts crying again.
“You signed an NDA, right?” she sobs.
Of all the questions to ask… I can only assume she’s going to tell me something juicy and potentially useful that’s ripping her heart out.
Fuck.
“Yeah.” Well, I’m sure Jeremy did.
“Are you sitting down?”
No, but she doesn’t need to worry about me. I’m convinced, however, that I have every reason to worry about her. “Sure.”
“You’re a terrible liar,” she sobs.
Oh, fuck. Does she know I’m Satan’s swaggering asshole sidekick, after all?
“Baby?”
“I’m so stupid. I flew back home on Friday afternoon. Carissa called and asked if we could get together this weekend. She said she had something for me that she ran across on Perez’s desk. She wasn’t supposed to see it. Tech’s FY Initiative? Apparently, that means Fuck Yeah.”
“I don’t understand.” What is she saying?
“Oh, it gets better. The PPP Fund Marketing set up? That means Party, Party, Party. That’s what Shane is using all the cash in those funds to do. Millions of dollars devoted to having a good time. Want to know specifically what he’s spending that money on? Look no further than HR’s very prestigious H-and-B Reserve.”
Suddenly, I know exactly what that stands for. “Hookers and Blow?”
“Yep. See, you’re a smart guy. You should be here, untangling this mess and saving this company. Our profits are literally going to sex workers and up our executives’ noses. I’m told that as soon as he was given the CEO’s seat, Shane invited all of the VPs out for a weekend of ‘team building.’ And apparently, he has video of every one of them doing something blackmail-worthy. That’s why they’re all toeing the line. They don’t want to lose their families or get arrested.”
I do my best to close my gaping mouth and support her. “This is fucking crazy. You know that, right?”
“Absolutely. Our CEO intentionally put the most powerful people in our organization in a position to be blackmailed so he could bleed the profits from the company his father is unable to oversee. All so he can have a grand time at everyone else’s expense. It won’t be long before we’re bankrupt.”
She’s right. I wanted Reservoir out of the way for Stratus’s sake. But not like this.
“How can I help you?” I’m hard-pressed to see a way without betraying my boss and best friend, but I’ll try.
“I don’t know.” Her voice hitches. “I don’t— The weight of this company is on my shoulders. Carissa gave me the information, but she didn’t really understand it. She thought she was just looking at some horribly compromising material. She doesn’t have the bigger picture of the financials. I guarantee no one else has dug into it. I can’t confront my boss about the fact I’ve seen footage of him balls deep in a stripper while his wife was home with their newborn.”
“That’s knowledge he’d probably fight to keep secret. He’d discredit you in a heartbeat.”